Opéra de Shanghai

A spectacular structure on the Shanghai sky line

Concept

Located on the People’s plaza, the historic center of the city of Shanghai, where it adjoins the city and faces the Museum of Fine Arts, it is today a strong signal and a major cultural venue in the city. With a 1800-seat room, it is an opera in the Western sense of the term, which can collect the classical repertoire.

The exterior architecture of the opera house is a contemporary interpretation of some of the key elements of Chinese culture. The design is based on a square shape, representing the earth in the Chinese culture, while the curved shape of the roof is a part circle, representing the heavens.

Program

The exterior architecture of the Opera contains strong elements of Chinese culture interpreted in a contemporary language. The plan is based on the geometry of square, which represents the earth in Chinese symbolism , while the curved roof of the building is an arc representing the sky. The scale of the building imposed innovative solutions and the use of more sophisticated and
advanced techniques , as to make the glass facades suspended. The 7000-ton-steel structure, ship hull made by shipyards in Shanghai and assembled on the ground , were hoisted to 40m height with jacks.